The best place to spot bears in the wild

Nature watchers armed with cameras and anglers toting fishing poles find plenty of targets within Katmai National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska on the Pacific Ocean. Wildlife here make their home in alpine tundra, forests, lakes, rivers and marshes. In addition to bears and salmon crowding the Brooks River, visitors at sites elsewhere in the park will spot moose, caribou, wolf, red fox, waterfowl, bald eagles, seals and whales. Reel in pike, pollock, cod or rainbow trout, among others. Explore by boat or foot, always keeping that camera poised to take an action shot.

First established in 1918 as Katmai National Monument, Katmai National Park and Preserve protects an active volcanic landscape, as well as an important habitat for salmon and the thousands of brown bears that feast on them.

When most people envision Katmai, they think of bears. The National Park is one of the best brown bear viewing areas in the world. More than 2,000 brown bears call Katmai home, many of them gathering at the Brooks Camp area of the park to fish for sockeye salmon in the Brooks River. A short hike will lead you to three wildlife-viewing platforms along the river where you can watch the bears dive for their dinner.